


The Privilege Of Rank

by telperion_15



Category: Primeval
Genre: Angst, First Kiss, Injury, M/M, Medical Procedures, Resentment, chain of command
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-11
Updated: 2012-02-11
Packaged: 2017-10-30 23:05:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/337173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/telperion_15/pseuds/telperion_15
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ditzy notices that the new captain isn't really fitting in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Privilege Of Rank

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written as a birthday fic for madscribbles, for the prompt 'Becker/Ditzy, tender loving care'.
> 
> Minor spoilers for episode 1.06.
> 
> A note about OCs:  
> Primeval fandom on LiveJournal has generated a number of fanon OCs, created by different authors and freely used by others, to the extent that some of them have now taken on lives of their own. The ones that appear in this fic, Ditzy, Lyle, Blade, Finn and Kermit, belong to fredbassett.

The group of people trooping into the operations room looked thoroughly depressed and bedraggled. Ditzy pushed through the double doors just in time to hear Connor bemoaning the sodden mess that had once been his hat, followed by Lyle’s rather unsympathetic laugh.  
  
‘Pissed off’ seemed to be the overarching theme, and Ditzy picked on Blade as the person least likely to bite his head off when he asked what had happened.  
  
“It all went completely tits up,” the corporal answered shortly. “It was raining so hard I thought we were going need a second ark, and then the anomaly closed before we could get the creature back through.”  
  
“Shit.”  
  
“You got that right.” Blade sighed. “We had to kill it.”  
  
Ditzy suddenly noticed the look of intense dislike Abby was shooting at Lyle. “I take it Jon did the honours?”  
  
“Yep. He had no choice really…”  
  
“Well, I wouldn’t have wanted our new captain to get killed in his first month on the job, would I? That would have looked a bit careless.”  
  
Lyle’s words betrayed that he’d overheard their conversation. Ditzy was surprised at the bite they carried, and glanced quickly at the new captain in question, Becker.  
  
Now that he was paying attention, he suddenly realised how obvious it was that Becker had separated himself from the main group. Not so much in terms of the civilians – on this occasion Connor and Cutter had pulled Abby away to talk to her in low voices, probably in order to stop her launching an attack on Lyle – but the gulf between the captain and the men ostensibly under his command was enormous.  
  
Ditzy stifled a sigh. He’d known it wasn’t going to be easy, accepting a new captain after Ryan, but he’d thought they could at least behave like adults. However, Lyle seemed to have taken an active dislike to the guy after only an hour’s acquaintance, and Finn was unfortunately following his lead. Blade and Kermit could be said to be neutral at best, and Ditzy, in an effort to keep the peace, had remained firmly on the fence himself.  
  
In reality, however, he didn’t really have a problem with Becker. Despite the rumours that he’d been fast-tracked due to family connections, the man was clearly good at his job, if a bit young for it. And to his credit he’d not tried to become Ryan’s replacement in anything but rank – which only made Lyle’s dislike seem all the more petty.  
  
It didn’t hurt that Becker was a bit of a looker, either. A bit too well groomed, perhaps, with that swept back hair, and his accent was so posh you could use it to cut glass. But not a bad package, really.  
  
Not that Ditzy would be broadcasting that opinion any time soon. He didn’t fancy turning Lyle into an enemy for life.  
  
Right now Lyle was looking at Becker with a smile that was insolent rather than friendly, and it was obvious that the lieutenant wouldn’t have particularly minded if the captain _had_ got killed.  
  
Becker was holding himself erect in the face of this hostility, looking every inch the commander. Except that if you looked closely you could see the hurt and confusion at Lyle’s attitude. But that was mostly in his eyes, and when he spoke his voice was steady.  
  
“Thank you, lieutenant. I appreciate your quick thinking. Now, I expect Lester will want reports sooner rather than later, so why don’t we all grab a much needed shower, and reconvene in an hour for a debriefing?”  
  
There was a muttered chorus of, “yes, sirs,” and then everyone drifted away, Lyle ignoring another venomous look from Abby as he sauntered off in the direction of the locker room.  
  
“See you later, mate,” Blade said quickly, and Ditzy nodded as the corporal followed the lieutenant.  
  
It was only then that he realised that Becker hadn’t moved. And since they were the only two left in the operations room, he felt no compunction in giving the other soldier a friendly smile.  
  
“Tough day, I take it, sir?”  
  
Becker grimaced. “You could put it like that.”  
  
“I wouldn’t worry about it. Not every anomaly has a happy ending. And I’m sure Miss Maitland will get over her anger soon enough. She’ll realise Lyle’s actions were necessary after some time to reflect.”  
  
“Yes, _thank you_ , lieutenant,” Becker snapped.  
  
Ditzy raised a surprised eyebrow, but decided not to push it. “Sorry, sir. Perhaps I’ll just leave you to get cleaned up…”  
  
“Wait.” Becker looked contrite. “I’m the one who should be sorry. As you say, it’s been a tough day.”  
  
The captain relaxed a little as he spoke, but then flinched. Ditzy looked at him sharply. “Are you injured?” he asked.  
  
“What? Oh, it’s nothing…”  
  
“Maybe I should be the judge of that. Let me take a look at you. Sir,” he added belatedly.  
  
“Really, it’s…”  
  
“Let me take a look,” Ditzy repeated, employing the voice and expression that was generally so successful on recalcitrant patients.  
  
“Oh, okay. If you insist.”  
  
As they walked to the infirmary it became obvious that Becker was favouring his left side, but Ditzy refrained from asking any questions until the infirmary door was safely shut behind them and Becker was perched on a bed.  
  
“Take your top off,” he instructed.  
  
Becker looked faintly amused. “Do you always proposition your patients so bluntly?” he said.  
  
But Ditzy just looked at him until he sighed and complied, wincing slightly as he stretched his arms over his head.  
  
Ditzy’s eyes narrowed as he took in the extent of the damage. The whole of Becker’s left side was a mass of and bruising, with a couple of nasty scratches and scrapes breaking the skin. It looked painful, to say the least.  
  
“What the hell happened to you?”  
  
Becker gave him a wry look. “Well, let’s just say that Lieutenant Lyle’s thinking wasn’t quite as quick as I implied back there. I came into rather close contact with a large reptilian head, followed by a tree, before he remembered he had a gun.”  
  
“Are you saying he hesitated on purpose? Because that’s a serious accusation…”  
  
“No,” said Becker hastily. “I’m not saying that at all. Lieutenant Lyle saved my life, and I’m grateful. It’s just that my life is a bit more battered than it was before, that’s all.”  
  
Ditzy nodded. “Okay. Is anyone else injured?”  
  
“No. Just me. Everyone else was sensible enough to keep out of the way. In fact, I’m pretty sure my men are wondering what kind of idiot they’ve been landed with as a commander.”  
  
“Well, speaking as one of your men, I don’t think you’re an idiot,” said Ditzy quietly. “Working on this project is pretty much one big risk. Everyone gets their fair share of batterings sooner or later. Actually I’d say you got off pretty lightly today.”  
  
“Oh yes?”  
  
“I’m sure it still hurts, though,” the medic amended. “And I’ll still need to take a look. It’ll probably need cleaning up a bit.”  
  
Fetching a basin of warm water and a cloth, he bent down beside the captain to take a closer look at his injuries. “Can you raise your arm out of the way a little? Now, the injuries look superficial enough. I don’t think there’s any internal damage.”  
  
Gently, he pressed his hands against Becker’s skin, feeling for any signs of broken ribs or other more serious injuries.  
  
Becker twitched away, and Ditzy looked up at him, concerned. “What is it? Does something hurt?”  
  
“No, it’s fine. Your hands are just cold, that’s all.” Becker sounded faintly aggrieved, and Ditzy rolled his eyes.  
  
“Don’t you start. I get enough complaining about that from the others. And besides, by hands are of a perfectly reasonable temperature. It’s not my fault you’re all wimps.”  
  
Then he suddenly remembered who he was talking to. “Oh, er, sorry, sir.”  
  
But Becker just laughed. “I think we’re a little past formalities, don’t you? I mean, you have managed to get me partially naked with very little effort. That seems more than friendly to me.”  
  
Ditzy blinked. Becker’s tone was teasing, and the medic wondered at the sudden turn the situation seemed to have taken.  
  
Becker seemed to realise he was being inappropriate. When he spoke again he sounded more serious. “Look, I know I can’t be ‘one of the lads’. I’m in charge here, and have to preserve a certain distance. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want us to be friends.” He smiled ruefully. “Although I suspect I might have some difficulty getting Lieutenant Lyle to accept that.”  
  
“Jon’s just being a wanker,” said Ditzy bluntly. “He’ll get over it eventually. He and Ryan were close, but he knows you’re not trying to replace the boss. Not like that, anyway.” He paused. “Look, do you want me to talk to him?”  
  
Becker hesitated, and then shook his head. “No,” he sighed. “ _I’ll_ talk to him. I don’t think I’m going to win his respect by hiding behind you.”  
  
“Probably not,” Ditzy agreed.  
  
There was a couple of moments silence, and then Becker looked down at Ditzy. “So what’s the diagnosis, doctor?”  
  
“What? Oh, just as I thought. Superficial. You definitely got off lightly. Just needs a bit of cleaning up and some bandages.”  
  
Quickly, he washed the area with the water, and then followed it up with some antiseptic, Becker flinching again at the sting. Five minutes and some firmly taped gauze later, Ditzy stood up to admire his handiwork, stretching the kinks out of his back and legs as he did so.  
  
“Right, you can put your top back on now.”  
  
Becker looked ruefully at his t-shirt. “I’m not sure that’s going to go over the bandaging without ruining all your good work. I’ve got a looser shirt in my locker. That’ll do for the moment.”  
  
“Well, if you will insist on wearing the tightest t-shirts known to mankind…”  
  
Ditzy’s brain caught up with his mouth a second too late. “Oh god, sorry. That was, er, uncalled for…”  
  
Looking amused, Becker reached out and pulled him close. “Oh, I don’t know. I’d say you’ve probably earned the right...”  
  
In the time it took to blink, Becker kissed him. Only quickly, and softly, but it was _definitely_ a kiss. A little unexpected, but not entirely unwelcome.  
  
“Er, what happened preserving a certain distance?” Ditzy managed when he’d stopped gaping in surprise.  
  
Becker’s eyes were twinkling. “I did also say I wanted to be friends,” he pointed out.  
  
“Well, that was certainly friendly.”  
  
The captain suddenly looked concerned. “This is okay, isn’t it?” he asked. “I don’t want you feel like I’m putting you in the middle of me and Lieutenant Lyle.”  
  
“Forget Lyle. Like I said, he’s being a wanker.” Ditzy stepped closer again and settled his hands on Becker’s shoulders. “You know, I’m beginning to think I showed amazing foresight in telling you to remove your t-shirt,” he joked.  
  
But Becker still looked serious, and Ditzy’s smile died.  
  
“What?”  
  
“Thank you, David,” Becker said softly. “For everything.”  
  
“Oh,” replied Ditzy, slightly embarrassed. “It was nothing.” Then he thought for a second. “How do you know my name?”  
  
“You forget, I’m allowed to read the personnel files. Privilege of rank.”  
  
“Okay. Fair point. So, are you going to tell me your name then?”  
  
“Ah, you see, that’s another privilege of rank. I’m allowed to have secrets.”  
  
“But I thought you said we were friends!” Ditzy raised his eyebrows, glancing exaggeratedly at the closeness of their bodies.  
  
“I did.” Becker grinned. “But you’re going to have get a lot more friendly than this before I divulge that piece of information…”


End file.
